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Classical Test (Which Sounds Best?)

I am currently in the process of making a new album and I want it to sound similar to what you would hear in an old classical romantic movie. Below is video of 8 tests of a passage of a composition. Please tell me which one you feel sounds best for what I am trying to do, or you can suggest anything else that may help.

Re: Classical Test (Which Sounds Best?)

Well, Richard, 2 and 4 are your only viable choices. Even though older movie soundtracks were mono, there's no point in being that authentic to the sound - it will just sound flatter and less interesting to modern ears that expect stereo. And you have to use reverb-that's the only way to simulate the sound of an orchestra playing in an actual space.

I'm not sure what you mean by "frequency reduction"-- I guess you mean those versions have some mastering EQ applied, and once again, one always needs some EQ correction in a mix, but the possibilities of what frequencies will be reduced or boosted is endless. So that's why I listed 4 also - Yes, you need stereo, yes you need reverb, and yes you can always work with EQ to make for a cleaner mix.

Re: Classical Test (Which Sounds Best?)

Thanks Ted and Randy,

It looks like 2 is the best choice to go with. I guess I get a little excited with new ideas, lol! All I could picture were indeed old movies and old sounds not thinking of the basic concepts or the modern ear. Sorry for bad explanation again (tends to happen a lot with me). By frequency reduction I meant cutting way some frequencies mainly the higher ones with Izotopes fee Vynil sofrware (Simulated LPs). I used the "wear" option on it. Basically, it simulated how many times the lp was played and it begisn to cut frequencies.

Re: Classical Test (Which Sounds Best?)

Originally Posted by sururick

...All I could picture were indeed old movies and old sounds not thinking of the basic concepts or the modern ear...By frequency reduction I meant cutting way some frequencies mainly the higher ones with Izotopes fee Vynil sofrware (Simulated LPs). I used the "wear" option on it. Basically, it simulated how many times the lp was played and it begisn to cut frequencies.

Ah, I see, thanks for the greater detail, Richard.

I think I understand what you're aiming for, and my advice would be to concern yourself with the style of the music itself, rather than audio tricks to make the results sound like old recordings which had different mixing techniques than we use now, and may even be damaged because of the old, worn-out media.

I think it would be better not to use the LP simulation. That's a fun effect to use sparingly, but rarely - and actually, the sound of vinyl that's been played too many times is different than the damage heard on an old movie sound track anyway.
I wouldn't do any of those things, but just focus on writing in a romantic, old-fashioned style, with lots of strings - like you're already doing. In fact, the vinyl plugin which reduces high frequencies to simulate wear is doing exactly the opposite of what you want to do. The main job of EQ is to keep things from getting too thick with low frequencies, and making a recording sparkle as much as possible by having a good amount of high frequencies - The highs are generally emphasized, not dulled.

OR - you could go ahead and do an authentic a recreation of an old soundtrack, and that could be fun too - I'm just suggesting that doing all that could make the end result be more of a curiosity piece, a stunt done with tricks, taking the focus off of your actual composition.